Babysitter
by LittleMewLugia
Summary: Babysitter. Summary: When a sparkling happens, those concerned try to keep the secret from Megatron, after all, the Decepticon overlord will have no time or patience for those too small and young to fight...will he? Oneshot.


Babysitter.

Summary: When a sparkling happens, those concerned try to keep the secret from Megatron, after all, the Decepticon overlord will have no time or patience for those too small and young to fight...will he? Oneshot.

Continuity: G1

Disclaimer: The Transformers and all canon characters belong to Takara/Hasbro, not me. Skythunscream, however, is a character of my own creation.

A/N: Earlier I wrote a story featuring a sparkless killer-type Megatron. Here I try to redress the balance.

Babysitter.

It was when Hook had taken Skywarp in for a routine physical that his condition was discovered.

"Well, in most cases like this, I would be offering congratulations," the Decepticon medic said as he finished his scans. "However, considering the run of defeats we've had, and our Leader's current foul mood as a result, I wonder how he will take the news of another tank to fill."

"What are you talking about?" asked Skywarp. Hook shuttered his optics briefly twice.

"You mean you don't know?" asked Hook.

Skywarp shook his head.

"You're about to become a Creator, Skywarp. You're carrying a sparkling," said the medic.

Once Skywarp had recovered from the unexpected news, the three Seekers discussed their options.

"Do we have to tell him?" Skywarp asked worriedly. "Can't we just, you know, leave it where it is for now?"

"I could, but I would, now I know, be forced to withhold you from battle, and he would want to know why. I cannot allow a carrier to risk both themselves and their sparkling in battle, so he'd find out anyway." Hook paused. "What we can do is place it in a sparkling body, and we can wait until a victory before telling him about it. Telling him then would be a smart move, but until then, you'd have to hide it."

Realising they had no choice, they reluctantly agreed. Fortunately, Hook had a standard winglet body amongst his supplies, and transferred the sparkling into it. Skywarp named the winglet Skythunscream, as which of his wingbrothers was the co-creator was undiscernable. They had all agreed to share responsibility for it.

Unfortunately, the victory they were waiting for was being very slow to materialise, and the three Seekers were becoming worn out with the twin demands of fighting the Autobots in various battles, and looking after an increasingly active sparkling. It was inevitable, really that what happened, happened: they had all slid into recharge one day out of exhaustion, the same day the sparkling discovered how to use com signal to open the doors.

It cooed in curiosity as it shuffle-hopped out of the door. A long corridor stretched invitingly ahead, and several more doors in the wall promised to give Skythunscream a glorious time exploring. A burst of amused static escaped the winglet's vocaliser as it moved towards the first set of doors purposefully, using the same signal it had discovered would open the door of the Command Trine's shared quarters.

It was disappointed when several of the doors it tried remained stubbornly shut. It had almost given up on the door-com signal when one of the doors it approached obediently slid soundlessly open. This door was not locked.

Eagerly, the winglet hurried forwards to find out what mysteries lay inside.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Megatron scowled at the data pad he held, as if doing so would change the content. Another failed mission. Another mission where the slagging Autobots and their fleshy allies had foiled his plans and handed them a humiliating defeat. Dropping the datapad with a growl, he stood. Perhaps he should go and see all his troops face-to-face, and remind them what he was capable of when he was not happy. Maybe that would improve their performance.

As he headed for his door, his foot clanged against something on the floor that should not have been there, something that fell over as his foot connected with it. A high-pitched keen sounded, making the Decepticon overlord look down to see what he'd ruin into. His optics widened as he saw the winglet lying on the floor, crying in distress.

"What the slag?" he muttered. He stooped to pick up the tiny mech, a cursory examination revealing no injuries, just a scuff on its hide where his foot had hit. He brushed at the scuff and the sparkling stopped crying to look curiously at him. Not hurt then, but just shocked, he surmised.

"What are you doing here? Where did you come from?" he queried, sending a com to close his door again. The sparkling did not respond, obviously it had not had its language programming installed yet, but Megatron was not unobservant. His optics lit on the wings.

"Ah, I should have guessed this would happen at some point," he murmured. He knew the proclivities of Seekers for pursuits of a sexual nature. He lifted the sparkling to his optic level. Obviously recovered from its shock, it clicked and made a grab at his face. He sighed theatrically through his vents.

"Let go of my nose, you little piece of scrap," he said, without rancour, but reinforcing the order by prying the winglet's fingers off his nose.

It clicked, then squeaked in distress as Megatron grabbed it around an ankle and upended it. It waved its arms and free leg about in confusion as it hung there upside down, then calmed as it realised its other leg was held firm in the Decepticon leader's big steady hand. Realising it would not fall, its natural curiosity reasserted itself. It clicked and cooed at seeing the world from this inverted perspective. Megatron drew one finger down one little wing, and the sparkling purred.

"So, I can guess where you came from, but now, what am I to do with you?" he asked.

The question was rhetorical, because Megatron had already began to move. He already knew exactly what he would do with the winglet.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Starscream was the first Seeker to wake, thus he was the first one to register their open door and the absence of the winglet. With a cry of panic, he shook the other two awake.

"Wha?" asked Skywarp, opening a bleary optic as Thundercracker jerked awake.

"Where's Skythunscream?" Starscream asked.

This woke them both and they stared around, searching the room and turning it upside down.

"Let's split up, ask people if they've seen him. Let's hope we find him before Megatron does!"

The three all headed off in different directions. With Megatron in this sort of mood, if he found the winglet, they could not say what he might or might not be capable of.

After two hours, they were forced to admit defeat. There was, of course, a fairly easy way to find it, by using the _Nemesis'_ sensors, and eliminating the Spark-signatures of each mech and then moving to find the unaccounted-for Spark, but that would take a lot of time and some of their power. Soundwave had been immovable on the matter: he would not help unless they got the okay from Megatron. He felt that hiding the sparkling from their leader had been the wrong thing to do. Of course, he could have told Megatron himself, but felt that as the sparkling's Creators, it was their job, not his. They decided that although they could ask him via com, it might be better to go in person.

They congregated outside Megatron's door, looking at each other uncertainly.

"You go first, you're its Creator." Thundercracker said to Skywarp.

"So are one of you," Skywarp retorted. "I think Starscream should go first."

"Why _me?" _whined Starscream.

"You're the trine leader," Skywarp said.

Starscream nodded. "Yes, I guess I am," he said. "Okay, I'll lead us in. It might be an idea to crawl in on our knees, maybe it will appease him slightly."

Neither of them objected, so they all got on their knees, and then Starscream commed the door open and they knee-walked in.

Megatron was sat at his desk, leaning back in his chair, and said nothing as they shuffled in front of his desk. It was as they assembled in front of the silent Decepticon leader and raised their optics to look at him fearfully that they realised he was not just being silent, but that he was in recharge, one arm raised, the elbow locked, the hand holding something to his chest. They stared.

"That's Skythunscream," said Skywarp in relief, standing, and the other two followed suit. "What's that round his mouth?"

Starscream peered. The winglet did seem to have something pink and green and sticky around his mouth.

"I think it might be residue from those," said Thundercracker in surprise, pointing to a cube on the table which was half full of tiny pink and green energon sweeties. Such luxury confection had been rare enough on Cybertron, and expensive as well, but Megatron had obviously obtained some before they left.

Starscream pointed to where a few of the sweets were scattered on Megatron's chest in front of the sparkling, who had some of the same sweets clutched in one tiny hand. Megatron's other hand, lying loosely on his lap, had some more of the treats in the palm. Both Megatron and the winglet appeared to be deep in recharge.

"Okay, I guess we'd better pick him up carefully and creep off. He's okay, that's all that matters," said Skywarp, but as he moved towards Megatron, one of the Decepticon Leader's optics shot open, noted all three Seekers, and fixed on Skywarp, who froze.

"So, would any of you care to explain why this sparkling was wandering the corridors unsupervised?" he asked in a quiet voice. "And answer quietly, or you'll wake him." His hand moved slightly on the sparkling in a caress.

"Ah…we were overtired. I was supposed to be watching him but umm…I slipped into recharge without meaning to," Thundercracker said.

"We're sorry we didn't tell you about him," Starscream cringed. "Please forgive us, mighty Megatron! Please don't hurt Skythunscream for our transgressions!"

"Keep your voices down or he'll wake!" Megatron said. "Skythunscream? That's a mouthful of a designation." He scowled.

"I'm not going to hurt him, what do you _take_ me for?" He fixed Starscream with a steely look. "No wonder you've been underperforming in battle, having to look after this one in your spare time. I will keep hold of him till he wakes today. Then you must bring him to me once a day. I will tend him for a joor and a half, so you can get some rest. Now go, I will return him to you once he wakes."

As the Seekers made for the door, Megatron spoke again.

"And all of you? If this happens again, if one if you is found to be carrying, tell me _at once _next time." He looked down at the sparkling and stroked it.

"It's a long time since I've had something else to concentrate on other than the war."

"Yes, Mighty Megatron," Starscream said, the usual sarcasm creeping back into his voice. Megatron noticed but satisfied himself with a glower at the red and white Seeker, who scuttled out of the door, closing it behind he and his wingmates.

Once he was alone again with the winglet, Megatron commed everybody that he as not to be disturbed for anything less than the approach of the Unmaker, sighed, and slid back into a deep and peaceful recharge.


End file.
